2010 Maysara "3 Degrees" McMinnville Pinot Noir

Light and tangy, with juicy acidity to balance the transparent pomegranate and floral flavors, finishing with silky texture. Drink now through 2016. 3,000 cases made.
(11/2012)

K&L Notes

Maysara is the first Demeter Certified Biodynamic® grower-producer in the Northwest, farming absolutely free of pesticides or chemicals and implementing the rules of biodynamics in the winery, too. Sourced from the estate Momtazi Vineyard, in McMinnville, Oregon, the "Three Degrees" Pinot is handcrafted by the three Momtazi sisters and named for their collective "three degrees" reflected in the wine: elegance, finesse, and balance. Winery Notes: "Three Degrees is a deep cherry color, with a core of dark cherries, blackberries, raspberries, red liquorices and with a touch of nutmeg in the aromatics. In the beginning of the mouth there is a touch of white pepper and lush summer cherries that finishes off the palate."

Product Reviews:

Great Pinot Noir under $20 is such a rarity that you have to celebrate it whenever you find it. From the cooler, late ripening 2010 vintage in Oregon, this 2010 Maysara 3 Degrees McMinnville Pinot Noir offers bright, high-toned crunchy red fruits, cranberry and raspberry. A hint of spice accentuates the fruit nicely. Delicious, and an excellent value.

More than just an everyday domestic Pinot. This wine has delicacy, nuance, earth and some spice. I challenge you to find a similarly priced Burgundy that can deliver all of that. Oh, and the grapes are grown biodynamically too.

This certified biodynamic wine is a sure treat. Beautiful pale cherry red, light-bodied and easy to drink. Red cherry, cranberry, spice, raspberry with medium-plus acid. Snappy finish leaves you reaching for more! Would be wonderful with fish, chicken, or even a meat dish.

Additional Information:

Varietal:

Pinot Noir

- One of France's most legendary grapes and the grape that earned Burgundy its reputation. The parent of varietals like Pinot Gris/Grigio and Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir is blue to violet to indigo in color with relatively thin skins, and it is said to have been cultivated in France for more than 2,000 years. At its best, Pinot Noir creates elegant wines that are filled with primary red fruit aromas and flavors while young, revealing with an array of secondary characteristics like earth, smoke, violet, truffle and game with age. The varietal is also known, perhaps better than any, for its ability to translate terroir, or a sense of place. While the best Pinot Noir still comes from Burgundy, it is being produced with increasing success in cooler climates around the world. In France, it is part of the trifecta of grapes that can go into Champagne, and it is also grown in Alsace, Irancy, Jura, Savoie, Lorraine and Sancerre. Outside of France it is produced under the names Pinot Nero and Blauburgunder in Italy's mountainous regions, as Spätburgunder in Germany and as Blauburgunder in Austria. In the US, Pinot Noir has found suitable growing conditions in the cooler parts of California, including Carneros, the Russian River Valley, the Anderson Valley, the Sonoma Coast, Monterey County, the Santa Lucia Highlands and Santa Barbara County, as well as in Oregon's Willamette Valley. In recent years, New Zealand has demonstrated its ability to interpret this hard-to-grow varietal, with successful bottlings coming from careful and attentive growers in Central Otago, Martinborough and Canterbury. Chile is also an up-and-coming region for Pinot Noir, creating fresh, fruit-forward, early-drinking and affordable Pinots from the coastal Casablanca Valley and the Limari Valley.

Country:

United States

- When people consider domestic wine, they normally think about the state of California. The fine viticultural Region within California, including the Napa Valley, Sonoma, Santa Cruz Mountains, Mendocino and Santa Barbara, are capable of growing grapes of world-class quality. But there's plenty of fabulous wine coming from other states, too. Oregon, Washington and New York are also causing eyebrows (and glassware) to be raised around the world. Click for a list of bestselling items from the United States.

Sub-Region:

Oregon

- Highly touted for its Pinot Noirs, Oregon is part of the up-and-coming winemaking industry in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. Most of Oregon is directly affected by the climate coming off of the Pacific Ocean, giving it mild winters and wet summers. This makes it a difficult place to ripen grapes, but some say that the harder grapes have to struggle, the more complex they will turn out to be. Chardonnay and Pinot Gris are two important and successful grapes grown in Oregon.